Miriam Carey's relatives have said they don't know why she was killed when she was unarmed

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Police in Stamford, Conn. were searching the home of Miriam Carey, the woman killed in the Capitol shooting Thursday after leading police on a chase.

Updated at 9:15 AM EST on Monday, Oct 7, 2013

Sisters of a Connecticut woman fatally shot by police outside the U.S. Capitol after she tried to ram her car through a White House barrier last week say she was not delusional and may have been fleeing danger when she was killed.

Valarie Carey said in an interview on the "Today" show Monday that perhaps her sister, Miriam Carey, was afraid and fleeing with a 13-month old child in her car when she was killed on Thursday.

NYC Family of Woman Killed in DC Chase Speaks

The family of Miriam Carey, who was shot to death outside the Capitol after trying to ram her car through a White House barrier, speaks in NYC. Checkey Beckford reports. (Published Tuesday, Oct 8, 2013)

Another sister, Amy Carey-Jones, said the situation could have been handled differently and suggested police overreacted or were negligent.

The sisters, who live in Brooklyn, also disputed officials' account that Miriam Carter was under the delusion that President Barack Obama was communicating with her.

Details About DC Chase Suspect's Mental Health Emerging

New details are emerging on the shooting in DC and the previous mental health of Miriam Carey, a Connecticut resident who was originally from New York City. Marc Santia reports. (Published Friday, Oct 4, 2013)

Amy Carey-Jones said it's "not the Miriam we knew."

Police in Washington say they're reviewing the use of deadly force.

Woman Killed in Capitol Shooting Had Ties to CT, NYC

The unarmed woman who was shot and killed following a car chase that began at the White House and ended near the Capitol has been identified as a Stamford, Conn. resident originally from New York City, according to multiple law enforcement sources. Checkey Beckford reports. (Published Thursday, Oct 3, 2013)

Interviews with some of those who knew the 34-year-old woman suggest she was coming apart well before she loaded her 1-year-old daughter into the car for the drive to Washington.

Raw Video: Female Suspect Leads Secret Service on Chase

A woman identified by multiple law enforcement as Miriam Carey, 34, of Stamford, Conn. is seen driving a black Infiniti. Carey tried to ram through a White House barricade Thursday, then led police on a chase that ended in gunfire outside the Capitol, witnesses and officials said. This video is courtesy of Alhurra Television, a U.S. government-funded TV network. (Published Thursday, Oct 3, 2013)

Carey had suffered a head injury in a fall and had been fired as a dental hygienist, according to her former employer.

A federal law enforcement official said investigators were interviewing Carey's family about her mental state and examining writings found in her Stamford condominium.

Dramatic Photos: Chaos Near the U.S. Capitol

"We are seeing serious degradation in her mental health, certainly within the last 10 months, since December, ups and downs," the official said.

The federal official said investigators believe that she drove to the nation's capital and that the violence erupted upon her arrival. The official said her shaky mental health was likely a "significant driver" of the events that unfolded.

After ramming the barricades at the White House, the apparently unarmed Carey led police on a chase down Constitution Avenue to the Capitol, where she was shot in a harrowing chain of events that led to a brief lockdown of Congress. Carey's daughter escaped serious injury and was taken into protective custody.

Carey, who was originally from New York City, had a good relationship with her mother and sisters, one of whom is a retired NYPD sergeant, sources told NBC 4 New York. Police spoke with Carey's relatives at their Brooklyn and Staten Island homes Thursday.